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Inside Story: Part 2

Amping yourself up to successfully start over is terrifying, but it’s also completely possible.

That’s as long as you don’t revert back to old habits usually used as a crutch, or excuse, to validate not following through with whatever it is that you’ve set out to accomplish.

So now I’ll share with you the rest of the story...how I went from Atlanta to Texas and from having literally nothing to accomplishing more goals in 2 years than I ever thought possible.

When I started sharing this story, I left off at having nothing. Being in a new city where I had no friends, no job, no car, and no address to call my own. Sleeping, which was something I never had to deal with, became a job in and of itself. Sleepless nights caused by stress, combined with horrible allergies I developed almost upon arrival in this desert-state left me feeling terrible. I had my share of breakdowns, temptations to revert to things that were familiar (but in no way good for me) and outbursts towards people that love me, all because I was angry at myself for letting this happen. I’d always figured things out, no matter how far down the rabbit hole they seemed to be falling. Always came out above water...somehow. But this time things didn’t work out like that. This time, the universe decided to give me a swift kick in the ass to jolt me back to the basics. By taking everything I’d known to be my reality away so I could create something great...something that spoke to my soul...something amazing.

The start in Texas was rough. Kind of like getting thrown from a moving car and down a hill. You roll and roll and roll...and every bump hurts...but eventually you come to a stop and can assess the situation.

I applied to every job that looked interesting to me. My plan was to start over the right way and only take a job in a field that I really liked and wanted to work in. Let me just say that saying you’re going to do that is MUCH easier than actually doing it when you have bills to pay. So...my reality resulted applying to retail management positions...and if you know me, you know I declared I’d NEVER work in retail again. I also declared I would never work in the legal field again. But of course, after not getting callbacks for the jobs I wanted to get, I applied to two retail management positions and ONE legal position. ONE. I got callbacks from one of the retail applications and of course...the one legal position I applied for. I ended up taking the job in the legal field. It paid a half decent salary, and my bills were piling HIGH.

I stayed there for a smooth 9 months, and during that time I decided I was going to finally go back to school and finish my Bachelor’s degree in Communication-with a Minor in Spanish. I started at Georgia State University (the real GSU) back in 2004, but after a series of life events..also known as rent and bills...and excuses...I took a “break”. Getting back in gear proved to be difficult and that “break ended” up lasting about 5 years.

But once I got to San Antonio, I was convinced the purpose was to make a change in my life, and determined to start by getting back to school and finally finishing that degree. I submitted my application to The University of Texas at San Antonio and was accepted, but was presented with an astounding tuition rate...calculated for an out of state student. Another road block. I had to be an official resident in the state of Texas for a minimum of one year, and prove my residency for each month in said year to qualify for in-state tuition. I mean geez. So that got put on hold, and I collected all of my pay stubs and anything else I could find each month to prove I did in fact legally and officially move to Texas.

Once I was finally an official resident, I wasn’t aware of the grants available to Texans, so my plan was to pay tuition out of pocket. To be able to do that though, I had to get a new job.

This is getting lengthy. So we’ll pick back up at needing to get a new job to pay tuition in the third installment of this inside story. It may even be next week-if you’d like to read about it, that is.

Inside Story: Part 2

Amping yourself up to successfully start over is terrifying, but it’s also completely possible.

That’s as long as you don’t revert back to old habits usually used as a crutch, or excuse, to validate not following through with whatever it is that you’ve set out to accomplish.

So now I’ll share with you the rest of the story...how I went from Atlanta to Texas and from having literally nothing to accomplishing more goals in 2 years than I ever thought possible.

When I started sharing this story, I left off at having nothing. Being in a new city where I had no friends, no job, no car, and no address to call my own. Sleeping, which was something I never had to deal with, became a job in and of itself. Sleepless nights caused by stress, combined with horrible allergies I developed almost upon arrival in this desert-state left me feeling terrible. I had my share of breakdowns, temptations to revert to things that were familiar (but in no way good for me) and outbursts towards people that love me, all because I was angry at myself for letting this happen. I’d always figured things out, no matter how far down the rabbit hole they seemed to be falling. Always came out above water...somehow. But this time things didn’t work out like that. This time, the universe decided to give me a swift kick in the ass to jolt me back to the basics. By taking everything I’d known to be my reality away so I could create something great...something that spoke to my soul...something amazing.

The start in Texas was rough. Kind of like getting thrown from a moving car and down a hill. You roll and roll and roll...and every bump hurts...but eventually you come to a stop and can assess the situation.

I applied to every job that looked interesting to me. My plan was to start over the right way and only take a job in a field that I really liked and wanted to work in. Let me just say that saying you’re going to do that is MUCH easier than actually doing it when you have bills to pay. So...my reality resulted applying to retail management positions...and if you know me, you know I declared I’d NEVER work in retail again. I also declared I would never work in the legal field again. But of course, after not getting callbacks for the jobs I wanted to get, I applied to two retail management positions and ONE legal position. ONE. I got callbacks from one of the retail applications and of course...the one legal position I applied for. I ended up taking the job in the legal field. It paid a half decent salary, and my bills were piling HIGH.

I stayed there for a smooth 9 months, and during that time I decided I was going to finally go back to school and finish my Bachelor’s degree in Communication-with a Minor in Spanish. I started at Georgia State University (the real GSU) back in 2004, but after a series of life events..also known as rent and bills...and excuses...I took a “break”. Getting back in gear proved to be difficult and that “break ended” up lasting about 5 years.

But once I got to San Antonio, I was convinced the purpose was to make a change in my life, and determined to start by getting back to school and finally finishing that degree. I submitted my application to The University of Texas at San Antonio and was accepted, but was presented with an astounding tuition rate...calculated for an out of state student. Another road block. I had to be an official resident in the state of Texas for a minimum of one year, and prove my residency for each month in said year to qualify for in-state tuition. I mean geez. So that got put on hold, and I collected all of my pay stubs and anything else I could find each month to prove I did in fact legally and officially move to Texas.

Once I was finally an official resident, I wasn’t aware of the grants available to Texans, so my plan was to pay tuition out of pocket. To be able to do that though, I had to get a new job.

This is getting lengthy. So we’ll pick back up at needing to get a new job to pay tuition in the third installment of this inside story. It may even be next week-if you’d like to read about it, that is.